


Our Christmas Tree

by ellacj



Series: 52 Weeks of Swan Queen [49]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Tree, F/F, Fluff, i can't stop with the christmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-13
Updated: 2015-12-13
Packaged: 2018-05-06 12:28:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5417123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellacj/pseuds/ellacj
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"From base to summit, gay and bright, there's only splendor for the sight. O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,thy candles shine so brightly."</p><p>-O, Christmas Tree</p>
            </blockquote>





	Our Christmas Tree

**Author's Note:**

> sorry it's late, life's been crazy lately. gonna catch up this week!!

The Mills house is covered in garland, twinkling lights, and a heaping portion of Christmas spirit. Emma twirls around and around, trying to untangle the string of garland wrapped around her ankle, until she trips over her own feet and topples to the floor in a fit of laughter.

“Emma, dear, stop fooling around with the decorations,” Regina says with a smirk. “Save some for the tree, at least.”

Emma sticks out her tongue. “Help me up?”

“What’s in it for me?”

“You won’t have to carry the tree inside by yourself.”

Regina seems to think for a moment, before leaning down to gently untangle the garland and pull Emma to her feet. “Be more careful next time, dear.”

“I’ll try my best, dear,” Emma teases. “Come on, let’s go get that tree. I wanna show you the ornament I bought you.”

As it turns out, bringing the tree inside entails Emma grunting under the weight of the trunk, while Regina effortlessly levitates the top of the tree with an outstretched hand.

“Couldn’t you just levitate the whole tree?” Emma calls.

“Yes.”

“So why am I here?”

Regina grins. “I like watching your arms work.” Her sparkling eyes zero in on Emma’s biceps, visibly straining even beneath a knit sweater. “Can you blame me?”

Emma rolls her eyes but she can’t hide her smirk. “Guess I can’t.”

Once the tree is inside, they drag all the boxes of tree ornaments from the basement and set Henry to the job of unpacking them all. Each one has a carefully printed tag hanging from it labeled with either _Henry_ or _Regina_ and the year they got it. “How come there’s so many from 2001?” Emma asks as she hangs yet another ornament from that year.

Regina flushes pink. “It was Henry’s first Christmas. I went a bit crazy trying to make it absolutely perfect. I didn’t consider the fact that he was only three months old and likely wouldn’t remember it at all.”

Emma grins. “It’s the thought that counts.” She stands back to admire their handiwork. Ornaments hang from almost every branch, and unlit bulbs fill in where there aren’t any.

“It’s beautiful,” Henry whispers. For a moment, all three of them are silent, caught up in the awe of their first Christmas as a true family.

“Oh, wait,” Emma says suddenly. She runs over to where her bag lies on the couch and digs around for a moment before pulling out a large velvet box. “Here.” She hands the box to Regina.

Regina frowns. “What’s this?”

“My first ornament.”

With a smile, Regina opens the box and inhales sharply when she sees what’s inside. It’s an ornately decorated frame with three photos inside. On the left, Regina holds a baby Henry in her arms with a mixture of elation and disbelief written in her smile. On the right, Emma and Henry stand in front of the harbor, each of them holding an ice cream cone with chocolate-smeared grins.

And in the center, two tiny footprints from the day Henry was born, flanked on either side by the larger footprints of his mothers, carefully traced in purple paint. “How did you get these?” Regina murmurs, tracing a finger over the toes of Henry’s feet.

“The hospital takes all the babies’ footprints when they’re born. I called them and had them send a copy.”

Regina looks up to meet Emma’s eye with a teary smile. “This… this is amazing. Thank you.”

Emma grins. “Should we label it and put it up?”

“Of course.” Regina searches in the ornament box for the sheet of labels and a pen. With careful handwriting, she writes _Emma, 2015_ on the label and ties it to the ornament with a piece of ribbon. “Henry? Would you hang it for us?”

Henry gently takes the piece in his hand and scans the tree before hanging it front and center. “ _Now_ it’s perfect.”

Regina dims the lights in the living room. “Emma, you can do the honors.”

“One. Two. Three.” Emma flicks the switch and the twinkling lights come to life, flickering between every color of the rainbow, illuminating the ornaments on the tree, including everyone’s new favorite. “Merry Christmas, ‘Gina,” Emma murmurs, pressing a gentle kiss to Regina’s hair.

And merry it absolutely is.


End file.
